Humanities

... and beyond

According to Carl Jung, what is true of the unconscious?

1 Answer

Answer:

Jung agreed with Freud that the unconscious has a powerful influence on personality/behavior. He also believed that all people hold within their unconscious a collective unconscious.

Explanation:

Like Freud, Jung thought that the unconscious played a major part in determining human behavior, but unlike Freud, he believed that, besides repressed thoughts and feelings, the unconscious contains what he called a collective unconscious.

His idea with the collective unconscious was that it is basically an inherited collection of common ideas (which he called archetypes) that came from humanity's universal experiences. He used this theory to explain why people in different cultures share certain myths and ideas and why many people are so invested in the supernatural/spiritual.

Most psychologists today do not hold stock in the idea of inherited memories. That said, they do believe that, due to our similar heritage, humanity does experience some universal inclinations.